It was just last month when we reported on the high school football hero from Clay County, Florida who was hit and killed by a CSX train while he was fishing off the trestle.
Now another area person has been hit and killed by a train.
It happened just before 11 a.m. Friday. The man or woman was driving just off of Phillips Highway. A witness says the person tried to drive around the railroad crossing arm that is intended to keep you out of harm’s way!
The driver was killed instantly.
Railroad or train accidents are considered common carrier accidents and often the carrier is held responsible if there is any negligence.
But when a person tries to drive around a clearly visible rail road crossing arm that is blocking the vehicle, the negligence standard may not apply.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has just completed a safety plan intended to reduce the two leading causes of train accidents- human factors and track flaws.
A huge component will continue to be Education – Enforcement, and Engineering, intended to improve highway-rail grade crossings to reduce the approximately 900 deaths that occur every year around train tracks.
Almost 80% of deaths occurs at relatively light-traveled crossings not equipped with gates.
When they do have gates, it’s imperative that we believe that a train is actually coming and stop.
